The SUPER DECISIONS Software

The Analytic Network Process for decision making with

dependence and feedback

By Creative Decisions Foundation

4922 Ellsworth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: 412-621-6546
Fax: 412-681-4510

The Parts of a Complex ANP Model

with Benefits, Opportunities, Costs
and Risks
Top level network containing the BOCR merit nodes:
benefits, opportunities, costs and risks; and the
strategic criteria hierarchy.
Four second level subnetworks containing the control
hierarchies and control criteria for the BOCR nodes.
Many third level decision subnetworks, one for each of
the high priority control criteria (sometimes 10 or 12).
These are called the decision subnets and each MUST
contain a cluster of alternatives.
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IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
1. Benefits, Opportunities, Costs and Risks
nodes (the merits of the decision)
2. Control Criteria Hierarchies (for each
merit node)
3. Decision subnets containing the
alternatives for the high priority control
criteria
4. Strategic Criteria against which the
BOCR nodes are rated to determine their
priorities.
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Benefits, Opportunities, Costs and

Risks Top-level Network

Hierarchy of Control Criteria for each

Merit Node
Create or access the subnet of a merit node by
right-clicking it to select Make/Show Subnet
Control criteria subnets have a goal cluster with
a goal node, a criteria cluster with criteria nodes
and perhaps subcriteria in other clusters.
The criteria are connected to the goal (and
subcriteria to criteria)
Pairwise compare criteria and subcriteria, pick
high priority control criteria and build decision
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subnets for them

Benefits Control Hierarchy Subnet

.8333

.1667

Opportunities Control Hierarchy

.25

.75

Costs Control Hierarchy

.8333

.1667

Risks Control Hierarch

.75

.25

There is a Decision Subnet for each

Benefit Control Criterion; the one for
Economic Benefits is shown below

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Perform all Pairwise Comparisons, e.g.: What is most

important Operational Criterion for Outsource All
Application Development Work

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Results of all pairwise comparisons are

arranged in unweighted supermatrix

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Pairwise compare the clusters connected

from a cluster for influence on that cluster.

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Multiply values in Unweighted SuperMatrix Components by corresponding Cluster Matrix Value

to get Weighted Supermatrix.
Example: All 9 numbers in (Financial, Alternatives) component of unweighted supermatrix are
multiplied by .833 from (Financial,Alternatives) cell in the Cluster matrix to yield values in
(Financial, Alternatives) component in weighted supermatrix below.
All columns then sum to 1 in weighted supermatrix.

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=1

The Weighted Supermatrix converges to the Limit

Supermatrix
All columns may be the same in the limit matrix, although not always the case.
Synthesized results for alternatives come from raw values in limit supermatrix

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Synthesized results in Economic

Benefits Decision Subnet
Alternatives under Economic Benefits

Ideals

Normals

Raw

1 Outsource all application development

work

1.0000

0.6962

0.3427

2 Outsource the design and

programming phases

0.2766

0.1926

0.0948

3 Do not outsource any application

development work

0.1597

0.1112

0.0548

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Synthesized results in Technological

Benefits Decision Subnet
Alternatives under Technological
Benefits

Ideals

Normal

Raw

1 Outsource all application development

work

1.0000

0.4411

0.2189

2 Outsource the design and

programming phases

1.0000

0.4411

0.2189

3 Do not outsource any application

development work

0.2669

0.1178

0.0584

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Combining Economic and

Technological to get overall Benefits
Weight Economic by .833 and Technological
by .167 and add to obtain:
Alternatives under Benefits Overall

Ideals

Normals

Raw

1 Outsource all application development

work

1.0000

0.6350

1.0000

2 Outsource the design and

programming phases

0.3972

0.2522

0.3972

3 Do not outsource any application

development work

0.1776

0.1128

0.1776

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Results under Benefits,

Opportunities, Costs and Risks
Positive

Negative

Benefits

Oppor.

Costs

Risks

Alternatives

Ideals

Ideals

Ideals

Ideals

1 Outsource all application development

work

1.0000

1.0000

0.8518

1.0000

2 Outsource the design and

programming phases

0.3972

0.8277

0.7653

1.0000

3 Do not outsource any application

development work

0.1776

0.4908

1.0000

0.3570
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Weight the BOCR by rating the top

alternative for each merit against the
Strategic Criteria

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Rating the BOCR

What is the highest valued alternative for Benefits? To determine what it
is synthesize in the Benefits control subnet which will rank the
Alternatives under Benefits. Keep that highest alternative in mind and
perform ratings across the Benefits row as to how it impacts the
strategic criteria. Repeat across the Opportunities row for
Opportunities highest valued alternativeand so on. For Costs and
Risks the highest valued alternative will be the worst one so you will be
rating by asking the question How does this worst alternative for Costs
(Risks) impact the strategic criteria?

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Final Step is to Combine the BOCR

Using a Formula
1. Additive negative formula generally best for
long term results: bB+oO-cC-rR
2. Multiplicative formula equivalent to
marginal cost/benefit analysis and generally
best for short term results: BO/CR
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Combine BOCR results using Additive (negative)

formula: bB+oO-cC-rR

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To change formula use the Design >

Formula command

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This is the Additive (negative) formula

as the software expresses it

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Combine BOCR results using Multiplicative

formula: BO/CR

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When to use what formula

Additive (negative) gives best alternative for the
long-term
Multiplicative gives the best alternative for the
short-term
In practice one usually looks at both. Often they
give the same best alternative, but not always.
Not possible to do sensitivity for multiplicative
formula as the b,o,c and r cancel out.
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Performing Sensitivity on the

BOCR Nodes
Select the Additive (negative) formula using the
Design>Sensitivity command
Select Computations>Sensitivity
Select Edit>Independent Variable (the initial graph
is usually not the one you want because the
software starts with the first node in alphabetical
order as the independent variable). You need to
select the correct Independent Variable (to do
sensitivity for the Risks, for example, choose
Risks)
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Set the Sensitivity Parameters

Click on the node Priority: 1 Availability of to select it, then

select Edit to get to the Edit Parameter dialogue box. Change the Wrt
Node to Risks.

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Parameter Settings for Risks Sensitivity

In the Edit Parameter dialogue box set the Parameter Type to 0 for
priorities and the Network to 0 for the top-level network (it is the
bottom position as shown below there is no name on it) and select
Risks for the Wrt (with respect to) Node.

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Display the Sensitivity Graph

Click the Done button then the Update button to display the
graph shown below
As the priority of Risk increases above about 40% the best
option changes from Outsource All to Do Not Outsource

The with
respect to
variable is
shown at the
bottom
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Investigate Sensitivity for the other

nodes: Benefits and Costs shown below
Benefits

Costs

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